"Mage: The Awakening; chapter 2" by Danielle J. Sanderson

“Gods, it’s so hot!” the students complained loudly.

“Ow! Mr. Kaze, my shoulders are all red!”

“Mr. Kaze, Charlie just fainted! I think it’s the heat.”

“I warned you!” Zephyr said, brutally cheerful. “When you’re in the sun for a long time like this, you should wear a hat and completely cover your skin. If you’re worried about being hot, you have to wear light clothes that permit your skin to breathe, and keep the sun off.”

Mercifully, he didn’t mention Quinn. She wore pale blue clothes with long sleeves. Around her head was a sort of scarf that served her as a hat, and a means to veil her face from the sun and the sand. She heard the students curse her in their minds.They still believed that Zephyr favored her and gave her tips and hints that he didn’t give them.

It was almost dark when they stopped to set up camp. One of the students had found a spring, so they all filled their water canteens and drank deeply. The students on supper duty filled pots to boil on the roaring fire. Many students complained about the heat it gave off.

“Haven’t we had enough for one day?” someone said.

“You’ll be begging for that heat soon enough,” Zephyr said, still as cruelly cheerful as ever, looking out at the setting sun. “It gets very cold at night in the desert.” The students laughed, disbelieving.

Quinn sat on the outskirts of their camp, already dressed warmly for the night ahead, a sketchbook on her knees and piece of charcoal in her hand. Facing the sunset, she drew all that she could see: the clouds, the sun on the horizon, the black trees silhouetted against the setting sun, the sand dunes, even their own footprints vanishing into the distance, undulating like a large serpent. Then, closing her eyes and putting her hands over the sketch, she let her magic flow from her fingers into the paper. She watched the image grow darker as her sun, now in full color, sank below the dunes at the same time as the real sun.

“Very nice,” said Zephyr. He had come up behind her while she drew.

“You know the students think there’s something between us, don’t you?” Quinn asked bluntly,hearing their roaring discontentment in her mind.

“Do they now?” he asked absently.

Quinn knew full well that he knew. He just didn’t care.

Quinn found it hard to sleep that night. The complaints of the other students continued to flood her mind, and she couldn’t clear it long enough to fall asleep. She was comfortable, sleeping on the sand, but she felt trapped in the tent. Several times, she went outsideto try to relax her mind. But nothing helped. She sensed something was wrong, but she didn’t know what it was.

Finally, hours later, she began to nod off. She closed her eyes, feeling sleep come at last, when her tent flap swung open. Mentally cursing whoever it was, she called a ball of light into her palm. It flared for an instant before the intruder grabbed her hand, smothering the light.

“Ah, ah, ah, none of that,” he whispered. Quinn recognized the rough male voice from somewhere, but she couldn’t quite remember where at the moment. The man pressed her hand down to the sand over her head. Resting his free hand by her ear, he leaned down and kissed her.

Quinn couldn’t move. Normally, she would have shoved him off her, punched him, cursed him, sworn at him, or all of the above. But she just lay there, her free hand limp at her side, as his lips caressed hers. Her eyes slid shut of their own accord.

When next she opened them, the man was gone, and the sun was on the verge of rising. Quinn shook her head to clear it. Had it all been a dream? She touched her lips. No.

Briskly, she went outside and dunked her head in the spring. It was shockingly cold. Letting her hair soak up water, she wrung it out and wove it into a tight braid, then coiled it at the back of her head, leaving the blood-red bangs free. She had packed her tent and gear long before any of the other students emerged.

The day wore on. The sun beat down, stronger and hotter than before. Several students cast spells on themselves to stay cool. The teachers said nothing, but marked that fact down in the small notebooks they seemed to pull out of nowhere. No one could tell if this was a good or a bad thing.

Quinn said nothing. She didn’t mind the heat, nor did she mind the light. She had, after all, spent several months here after running away from home, and was a very resourceful girl. She kept her hood on, kept her veil off her face so that the light breeze could cool her face, took a small sip of water every few minutes, just enough to quench her slowly drying throat. But more importantly, she just didn’t think about it. The more you tell yourself “I’m hot,” the hotter youw ill feel. She didn’t need magic at all right now.

Very suddenly, out of nowhere, the wind went into a rage, swirling, screaming as it tore at their hair and clothes. A few students screamed and flung themselves from their horses, or were even thrown off by the winds or their panicking mounts.

Quinn easily calmed her horse and waited. The students had been warned that things like this would happen. Sandstorms like this one were rare in this particular desert — which was one of the reasons the teachers had taken them there, so that they would be in no real danger.But seeing as the point of this field trip was to force the students to use their powers in the real world, and to test their nerves, the teachers had a series of natural disasters and occurrences up their sleeves.

Zephyr has strictly forbidden Quinn to react unless none of the other students could control the situation. He knew what she was capable of, and had another quiz in store for the others.

So she waited. The wind blew sand into her face, and she wrapped her veil around her head. She cast a small barrier around her horse’s face as well. She may not be allowed to do anything about the storm nor her comfort, but Zephyr couldn’t tell her how to take care of her horse.

In a sense, the students at MWSI were right about Quinn. She was the daughter of a rich family who wanted to brag that their child went to the most prestigious magic school in the country. Her parents had paid for her full tuition, they gave her every comfort a girl could ever want; they had even bought her a horse that she kept in the private stables on campus that her family had also bought. But Quinn herself was not a rich-kid. She didn’t need money or material possessions to be happy. She had cut off all ties with her family and had to rely on herself now.

But she loved her roan gelding. He had been her only friend for a long time. She rode him almost every day before sunrise. Quinn would never stand for him to be pelted by sand and stones because a few students didn’t have enough compassion cast a barrier around her as well.

Because that was Zephyr’s plan. The students were being trained to protect themselves and everyone around them. He wanted to make sure they would use their magic indiscriminately. When giving them their instructions before leaving, he had included the teachers in that category, conveniently forgetting to mention Quinn.

“It doesn’t matter if we can protect ourselves,” Zephyr had said when someone questioned his logic. “What if one day you’re traveling with people who can’t use magic? You’ll need to be able to protect them. If anything goes wrong, luckily enough we teachers do have magic and can do what needs to be done. You have to protect yourself, and anyone around you, that includes other students who maybe have difficulty doing it themselves.”

Quinn shaded her eyes against the sand. I knew it, she thought bitterly. No one is going to put a barrier around me. They know I can do it myself, and that will be their excuse when Zephyr yells at them. Through the swirling sand, Quinn saw Zephyr waving to her. Oh, finally! It was as simple as breathing: the wind around her vanished and she was encased in a bubble of clear air. Quinn thought she felt her horse sigh in relief.

Although Quinn could easily take care of the entire storm, she hesitated.

Some of the students can sense where magic comes from. If I stop the storm, they’ll know it’s me, and, as usual, they’ll think I’m showing off. She glanced up. But if I don’t, Zephyr will think I’m like all of them. She let out an irritated breath and made up her mind.

She released her magic, calming the winds and guiding the sand harmlessly back on the ground without landing on the other students. The thing that had decided her was that the others were clearly having a hard time dealing with the storm. As much as she disliked the majority of them, she didn’t like it when people around her were suffering.

Zephyr gave her a brief, proud smile and gathered everyone up to continue the ride.

As Quinn followed the teachers, the students had already started spreading her success and her supposed “connections” around.

A couple hours before noon, they halted again. It was time to look for an oasis or a spring to refill their canteens. Zephyr nodded to Quinn. It was her turn. She didn’t particularly want to show her powers so soon after her last exploit, but they needed water, and Zephyr would not let her do it later. He had a schedule and stuck to it. She tied her reins to her saddle horn, ready to dismount.

“Wait,” Zephyr said suddenly, voice tight.

Surprised, Quinn stopped and looked up. There, before the group, was a rider. His face was hidden by a brown hood. Only his mischievous smile was visible from the shadows. His cloak billowed dramatically in the wind.

“Well, well,well,” said the man. Quinn started. She recognized the voice of the man from last night. “What do we have here?” His eyes swept the company and fell of Zephyr. “Why, if it isn’t Zephyr!” He threw off his hood to reveal long, coal-black hair, and a royal blue right eye, and an emerald green left one. His tanned face was identical to Zephyr’s paler one; they could almost be twins.

“Hariken, what are you doing here?” Zephyr demanded. “Go away. Leave them alone. They’re students.”

“So I see,” the man called Hariken said, eyes sweeping the company once more. They fell on Quinn. His lips slid into a broad grin, and he winked at her. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced,” he said silkily. “Hariken Kaze, prince of the desert.”He bowed, hardly taking his eyes off Quinn. “Call me Ken.”

In his mind, Quinn saw his thoughts on last night, his reasons for doing what he had done. He loved adventure, and danger thrilled him. To meet a beautiful woman in the dead of night in the middle of a camp of witches and sorcerers, what could be more thrilling? Besides make love to her in the dead of night in the middle of a camp of witches and sorcerers, of course.

Quinn ignored her female companions’ inevitable jealous uproar of the attention she was being paid — what did Quinn have that they didn’t? — as well as the man’s thoughts. She didn’t even blush. She swung from the horse’s saddle at last and made her way to the top of the dune, walking calmly and coldly past him without looking at him. When she reached her destination, she pulled off her hood and faced the wind.

Closing her eyes, she let her magic flow, searching for water. She found the spring they had left that morning. She turned her back to it — and the company of students, teachers, and a thief — and immediately found an oasis at about half a day’s ride. That was no good. She would tell Zephyr about it for that night. Between it and them, not too far from where they now stood, there was a small river. With the ease of practice, she drew her power back into herself and turned to tell Zephyr her news.

Just as she opened her mouth, she was suddenly struck from behind by a terrible wind. It swirled around her, catching her in a funnel of wind and sand.

“Quinn!” Zephyr yelled, running toward her. What was going on? She had done everything perfectly, nothing that could have called a sandstorm. And no one nearby had done anything either. He couldn’t reach her. Already he felt the storm pulling her far away, and dwindling. Slowly, the sand cleared. Only a smooth expanse ofsand remained, all footprints erased where Quinn had gone and Hariken had come from.

Quinn was gone.

And so was Hariken.

Quinn let the wind carry her. It would do no good to fight it; it was a lot more powerful than the one the teachers had cast. She couldn’t sense its origin, but she felt its oppressing power. She let it swirl around her, tearing her hair from its braid and whipping it around her face. Strong arms gripped her, pulling her against a hard chest. This, she fought. She shoved Hariken away, pushing with her magic as well as her hands. She glared at him through the sand.

Finally, the tornado slowed, depositing them gently near a stream. Quinn’s hair settled around her shoulders as if nothing had happened. She continued to glare coldly at Ken.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, smile still firmly in place. “You know you liked it.”

Magic sizzled around her. She was angry. Gods, but she was angry. Truthfully, she didn’t know why; his nighttime visit hadn’t really bothered her; neither did his presence now. So why was she so mad? Taking a deep breath, she got herself back into control. She sent out her magic again, searching for her companions. There they were. But they were on the opposite side of the desert!

Now she was faced with another problem. How was she supposed to get back to them? Her horse had followed her into the tornado, still loyal to his mistress, but she didn’t know how long it would take to meet up with the others, or how long they would wait for her. And who the hell had created that tornado? Suspiciously, she glanced at Ken. No, it wasn’t him. The power had come from very far off.

Ken looked up from stroking his horse’s nose. Seeing her watching, he grinned roguishly and blew her a kiss.

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Why did you follow me?” she demanded.

“You think I would pass up the chance to be alone with you?” he said with a wink. “Zephyr would never give me a chance to get near you, never mind being alone with you.”

That got a blush out of her. She turned away.

“Well,” he said suddenly, swinging into his saddle. “Shall we go?”

“Go where?”

“To find your friends.”

“First of all,there’s no we. And second, you’re not coming with me.” She mounted her horse and turned him in the direction she had sensed the others. “And they’re not my friends,” she added as an afterthought.

“You can’t stop me, beautiful little mage,” Ken said, following her. If he had heard her final comment, he gave no sign. “Just pretend you don’t know you if you want, pretend that we’re not companions, but I’m coming with you.”

Quinn ignored him once more. He was right, curse him. She couldn’t force him to go away. He had magic as well, as much as Zephyr, and she wasn’t in control enough to force him to do anything against his will.

“You want to know how I know Zeph, right?” Ken said suddenly.

“You’re a part of him,” she said immediately, surprising him. “Originally, you were a single being. And you were broken into pieces — four, I think — each with a different personality. Zephyr is knowledge and tradition. You are adventure and passion. The other two must be love and gentleness, and violence and hatred.” She glanced at him. He stared at her, openmouthed. “I’m a Free mage,” she told him. What she didn’t tell him was that she had seen all this in Zephyr’s mind the moment he had seen Ken. A great sense of unease had crept into her teacher’s mind at that moment, but Quinn didn’t know why; Ken wasn’t radiating any menace, outwardly or inwardly.

“Well, I’m impressed,” he said earnestly. But she saw his suspicion in his mind. He knew there was something she wasn’t telling him. She refused to say more than that.

They rode for hours. Quinn deprived herself of water to give it to her horse. Often, she dismounted and walked along side him to give him a chance to rest. But it wasn’t enough. Half an hour after noon, her horse collapsed. She couldn’t make him get up. They were too far from any oasis. Sadly, to ease his pain, she slit his throat with her dagger, set him on fire and whispered a prayer. Her greatest friend at MWSI was gone.

She refused Ken’s offer to ride with him and walked stubbornly on. By that time, both their canteens were empty. Quinn trudged on, sensing an oasis not far away, and determined to reach it. Her mouth was paper dry, her throat sore and parched.

“Are you sure you don’t want some water?” Ken asked, falling into step beside her and holding out his canteen. “I have about a mouthful left.”

“I told you, I don’t need your help. Nor do I want it.”

Ken shrugged. He poured the last of the water in his mouth. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. He pressed his lips to hers, holding tightly to her arms so that she couldn’t get away.

Quinn made a noise when liquid flowed into her mouth. A hand against her throat forced her to swallow. Angrily, she shoved him away.

“Bastard,” she said, dragging the back of her hand over her mouth where a bit of water had escaped.

“You’ll thank me later,” he said with a wink.

Quinn walked on.

A long time later, she reached the top of a dune with tremendous effort. She saw the oasis. It wasn’t a mirage: she could smell the trees, hear a small waterfall. She lurched forward, hope coming back in a great surge. But she was more exhausted than she had thought. Her head began to spin, her legs turned to water. She fell. She tumbled down the dune, stopping at its base on her back. Stubbornly,she rolled over with a moan and tried to push herself to her feet. Her arms gave way. She had been using her magic all along just like she had previously, but she was weakening fast: her powers weren’t used to being used so much for so long.

“Easy there, little one,” Ken said softly. He had rushed down after her, and picked her up, cradling her gently.

“Let go, I’m fine,” she croaked. Her mouth was so dry; it was hard to speak at all. Half-heartedly, she pushed at his chest, trying to squirm out of his grasp.

His grip tightened. “Oh, no you don’t,” he warned. “This time, you’re going to shut up and do as you’re told. You’re dead on your feet. Now be quiet, and I’ll get you some shade and some water.”

Quinn let herself go. She was too weak to resist. In a matter of seconds, she was among the trees, their leaves blocking the heat of the sun. Cool air blew over her, and she could feel a light mist from the waterfall.

Ken lay her down in the grass against a tree, and took both of their canteens to the waterfall. Quinn lay back, eyes closed, listening to the gentle roaring of the water, feeling cooler and refreshed already. Something cold was pressed to her lips. She grasped her canteen and drank deeply. When it was about half empty, she poured the rest over her face.

Ken touched her cheek. “You’re really hot,” he remarked. “Do you have a fever?” His hands roamed over her face.

“I’m fine,” she told him, pushing his hands away. “It’s the heat that’s making my face hot.”

“Either way, I want you to take this, to prevent a fever.” He started rummaging in his bag.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want your help?” she demanded. He ignored her, taking a swig of water. Then, he turned to her and, with his hands on her shoulders to keep her from moving, he pressed her against the tree and kissed her again. He forced his mouthful of water and medicine into her mouth.

“Stop that,” she demanded, pushing him away yet again. “Do you have to kiss me every time you want me to shut up?”

He winked. “I don’t need an excuse to kiss you, little mage. It just keeps you from frying me if you think I have a reason, other than your beauty.”

She turned away. “Please go away,” she whispered.

Such was the pain in her voice that Ken left her alone. Keeping to where he could see her, he left her in peace.

Memories of her brother were flooding her mind. She couldn’t have heard Ken’s thoughts if she tried, her mind was so saturated with pain and sorrow. She was much too warm. Getting to her feet, she staggered over to the waterfall and stuck her head in it. She gasped at the cold, but it made her feel a bit better. When she needed to breathe, she pulled her head out of the water and made her way back to the tree, ignoring the water from her hair dripping down her back.

She was shivering by the time she sat down. That wasn’t right; she was still far too warm; she was sweating and shivering at the same time.

“Ken?” she called weakly, desperately.

Something in her voice caught behind Ken’s heart. He rushed over, eyes full of concern. Quinn grasped his arm like a lifeline as her shivering got worse. Her entire world was spinning. She felt like she was in a dream. Only Ken’s arm assured her that she was awake.

“Help me,” she whispered, her voice shaking as much as she was. She was afraid.

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do since we got stuck out here?” he said, feigning exasperation to keep his own fear out of his voice. She had a very bad fever.The medicines he had given her hadn’t worked.

Must bebecause of her magic, he thought. Using magic of his own, he cast a light-healing spell. “Listen to me,” he told her.“I’ve cast a healing spell, but it won’t work right away. This kind of illness has to be healed gradually, or you could die. You have to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

With great difficulty, Quinn nodded. She still clutched his arm, afraid he would leave her, even though he had told her that he would not. She felt him settle down beside her, wrapping his arms fully around her, to keep her warm or to comforther, she couldn’t tell. She relaxed her hold on his arm. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Ken smiled when he felt Quinn relax. Good, now she’ll heal faster. His arms tightened around her. He wanted nothing more than to protect her. It was something he’d never felt before, not even when he had been a single being. And I think Zephyr would agree. Quinn sure is something special.

It took three days, but Quinn’s fever broke. After another two days to rest and regain her strength, she was fit to ride. Ken sat her in front of him on his horse.

“Won’t it be hard on him, if we both ride?” she asked as Ken got up behind her.

“Not at all,” was the airy reply. “He’s magicked. Raised him myself and infused him with every endurance, speed and strength spell I knew at the time. That’s why he kept going when yours gave out.”

“I hope you realize that this does not give you permission to touch me in any other way than to keep me from falling,” she said pointedly as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.

“I realize no such thing,” he said with a grin, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “Sleep,” he told her. “You’re not well yet.”

“Can you sense Zephyr?” she asked, covering a yawn. “Because if you can’t, how do you know where to go?”

“You’ve got a point, little mage. Sadly, I can sense him, so you have no excuse not to sleep.”

Twisting so that she sat sidesaddle, Quinn rested her right side on Ken’s chest, trusting him not to let her fall. She was asleep in seconds, and didn’t see Ken’s mouth split into a huge grin. He kicked his horse into a gallop, holding Quinn tighter.

“They’re just beyond those dunes,” Quinn said, feeling her classmates’ presences. She swung her leg over the horse’s neck and slid from his back.

“What’re you doing?” Ken asked.

“Walking,” Quinn replied. “The students spread enough rumors about me as it is; the last thing I want to do is give them a reason to think something is between us.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Ken asked in a would-be innocent voice. He had constantly been trying to get closer to her, but couldn’t get past the emotional wall she had erected around her heart.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” she said, surprising him, “except nothing happened. They’ll think we’ve been sleeping together all this time, whether I ride with you or not—”

“Then there’s no need for you to walk.”

“But if I do, then Zephyr will believe it too. It’s not that I like him better than you or anything, but I don’t want to lose his confidence and respect. He’s the best teacher I have, and he’s the only one who understands my magic.”

“All right,” Ken conceded. “Then I’m walking too.” He dismounted and walked on the other side of his horse than Quinn, for which she was grateful. “I am a gentleman, after all.”

Just before they topped the dune that would bring the MWSI group into view, Ken stopped Quinn.“This may be the last chance I get to be alone with you,” he said, but didn’t move after that.

Quinn watched him for a minute. Then, slowly, almost hesitantly, she rose on her toes and lightly brushed her lips against his. She gave him a small smile and freed her arm from his grip. She turned and walked to the top of the dune.

“QUINN!”

Zephyr leapt off his horse and ran toward her.

“Never do that again,” he ordered, grabbing her arms and shaking her. “It’s been almost a week! I would hate to have to tell your parents that we lost you in the desert.”

Quinn looked away. “As if they would care,” she said bitterly. “Anyway, it’s not like I did it on purpose, you know.”

“I know. I’m just glad Ken didn’t take advantage of you.” He glared at the thief, who had just come into view. Knowing full well what Zephyr was glaring about, Ken grinned and bowed deeply, exaggerating the move in order to irritate the teacher.

“He didn’t even think about it,” Quinn said in Ken’s defense. It wasn’t entirely a lie. He had thought about it, but never about doing the things he thought of, beyond kissing her.

“And you know this how?” Zephyr asked. “He may have said he didn’t think about it, but he’s a man. Trust me, men think about that kind of thing all the time.”

“Even you?” she asked slyly, to prove him wrong. She knew he didn’t think of her that way.

“All right,” he admitted, blushing. “Not all men do. But knowing Ken the way I do, he was trying to figure out if he could get away with it. If he could, he would have been all over you.”

“Damn straight,” Ken said. Zephyr jumped. He hadn’t heard the thief step up behind him. “Unfortunately, I knew that you would blow a fuse. And as much as I would have loved to see that, out of respect for Quinn, I didn’t even try to touch her.” He winked at Quinn.

When Zephyr looked at her, she shrugged.

“All right, everyone,” he said, raising his voice so that everyone could hear. “I think we’ve been in this desert long enough. Time to go back to school.”

“Slut!”

“Whore!”

“Why do girls always go for the bad boys?”

Stubbornly, Quinn ignored the thoughts she knew she would hear. She mounted one of the spare horses, taking her time to let everyone go before her. As she followed the train of students, she turned in the saddle. Ken was still on the dune, astride his horse, watching her go. His horse reared, creating a classic picture in the setting sun.

“So long, little mage,” he thought. “For now.”

Quinn waved.